Plan For Condo Complex Raises Concerns

October 10, 2000|By Warren Moulds.

WINFIELD — Density and height both were a little too high to suit the Winfield Plan Commission, so the $16 million, four-story, two-building condominium complex proposed by R.A. Faganel Builders has gone back to the drawing board.

Though most commissioners lauded the high-rise's concept, architectural style and potential for stimulating the village's somnolent downtown, they expressed concern over the traffic it could generate.

Whether the development gets off the ground largely hinges on reducing density from the 80 units proposed to whatever number is economically sensible for Faganel Builders. "No way we can reduce it to 64," said Dave Faganel, executive vice president. "We might get it down to 70, but I don't know until we go over the numbers."

The development will be on a 2.5-acre tract now occupied by three homes on the south side of Jewel Road and across from Central DuPage Hospital. Though density and the traffic associated with it are one problem, so too is the 41-foot height of the buildings, which is 6 feet taller than the village's Town Center plan.

Nearby homeowner Edward Serwach said recently that he was "concerned for kids with more traffic in the area."

"There's a lot of [other] open space around here," he argued. "How far do we want to commercialize up Jewel Road?"

Resident Fritz Karwoski, on the other hand, said "this is an unbeatable location. Taxes to the schools will be unbelievable. It'd be a tremendous addition to Winfield's housing stock."